Fungal agents, especially yeasts, are resident in digestive system as microflora and they can invade the mucosal tract in animals with predisposing factors. The prevalence of the resident fungal flora in the digestive tract of healthy broilers and layers during April to September 2008 was investigated. The samples were taken from the preventriculus, jejunum and cecum contents of 120 birds and cultured on Sabouraud glucose agar. Both filamentous fungus and yeasts were isolated and a predominance of the Candida species was found, followed by Trichosporon beigelii, Geotrichum candidum, Rhodotorula rubra and Saccharomyces cerevisiae species, which were found in 84.6%, 5.5%, 4.6%, 3.3% and 0.5% of cultures, respectively. Among the yeast isolates, Candida albicans (45.8%) was the most prevalent fungal agent, representing a significant proportion when compared to the other fungal isolates (P

An adult female budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) presented with abdominal enlargement. The condition of the bird deteriorated after needle aspiration for cytological examination. The budgerigar was euthanatized and a complete necropsy was performed. Microscopic sections were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Gram staining, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and acid-fast staining. Escherichia coli was isolated in pure culture. Necropsy revealed the pres­ence of granulo­matous lesions of varying sizes at different locations and hepatomegaly, oviduct impaction and oophoritis. Histopathologically, typical granuloma with a central area of coagulation necrosis and bacterial colonies surrounded by lymphocytes, macrophages and multinucleated giant cells were found. These granulomas were present in the liver, oviduct and intestinal tract. A sheet of neoplastic cells and disruption of the normal hepatic architecture was seen. The diagnosis was lymphoid leucosis and coligranuloma.

Cases of minimally-invasive surgery are gaining acceptance among surgeons and animal owners. One type of minimally-invasive surgery is total splenectomy, which is indicated for splenic tumors, trauma, torsions, and for dogs that require blood transfusion. To assess the safety of the technique, experimental laparoscopic splenectomies were performed in dogs for the first time in Iran. Three adult male mixed-breed dogs were placed in dorsal recumbency at a 45° angle in the right lateral position, under aseptic condition and general anesthesia. Three trocars were placed; at the umbilicus, 3 cm cranial to the umbilicus and in the right caudolateral abdomen. The spleen was rotated 90° laterally and thermal coagulation of the blood vessels was performed by bipolar electrocautery. The pedicles were checked to ensure hemostasis. The spleen was morcellated and removed from the umbilical port using a retrieval bag. The mean surgery time was 42 minutes, and all dogs survived the surgery without complications. Laparoscopic splenectomy via three portals was found to be easy and safe.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and type of ophthalmic diseases among horse populations in the suburbian riding clubs of Tehran. Ophthalmologic examinations were performed in 901 horses and ocular lesions were diagnosed in 40 (4.4%) animals. In the 54 eyes of these horses that had ocular defects, 103 ocular abnormalities were detected. Of those horses affected, 65% showed abnormalities in one eye and 35% had abnormalities in both eyes. Various sequelae to ocular trauma and periodic ophthalmia were the most common and recognizable causes, which comprised 25% and 15% of horses with ocular defects, respectively.

Various forms of intensive sport place stress on the musculoskeletal system of the horse, during both racing and training. The musculoskeletal system of the horse has an inherent ability to adapt to the demands of high speed exercise, but exceeding the threshold of adaptive capacity may result in some form of damage. Continuing racing or training may delay the repair process and put the horse at risk of more serious musculoskeletal injury. This study investigated injury in different breeds of horses involved in various types of activity in riding clubs in Tehran. Of the 400 horses that took part in various events during the race season from March 2008 to September 2009, 26 were injured. The most common injury was to the musculoskeletal system of the fore limbs (64%). The hind limbs suffered 16% of the injuries and the head and neck 4%. From a gender aspect, incident rates were higher in mares (54%) than in stallions (46%). From a breed point of view, Thoroughbred and Arab horses had higher incident rates (100% and 85% respectively) than a hybrid horse (50%). Findings of this study also showed the relationship between gender, breed and age of the horses to the injury site, type and outcome, and type of the events.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bacterial inoculation on the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silage and on the dry matter degradability and milk composition when fed to sheep or cows. Four male sheep were selected to measure dry matter degradability of uninoculated (UCS) and inoculated (ICS) corn silage. Milk composition was measured for 22 Holstein cows, separated into two treatment groups and fed with either UCS or ICS diets. Similar lactic acid concentrations but higher propionic and lower acetic acid concentrations were recorded for ICS diets compared to UCS diets (p < 0.05). Aerobic stability was 12 h and 32 h for UCS and ICS, respectively. Values of in sacco dry matter loss were higher for ICS than for UCS (p < 0.05). Lactose and solid non-fat content was higher in the milk of cows fed with ICS than UCS (p < 0.05). We conclude that the Lalsil bacterial inoculant containing propioni bacterium acidipropionici and Lactobacillus plantarum can be used as an additive due to its positive effect on fermentation, aerobic stability and dry matter degradability of corn silage. The slight positive effect of inoculcation on the nutritional value of silage appears to be limited to milk production improvement in dairy cows.

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of food-borne diarrhea in many countries. Poultry and poultry products are known as important sources of human campylobacteriosis. In this study, conventional culture and multiplex PCR methods were compared for the detection of C. jejuni isolated from poultry carcasses. A total of 100 samples, representing 20 broiler flocks, were collected from poultry carcasses after the evisceration stage in the processing line at a commercial broiler slaughtering facility in Mashhad, Iran. In the conventional culture method, samples were processed by enrichment followed by selective plating, and then suspected colonies were isolated on sheep blood agar and tested for morphology, motility, Gram staining, biochemical properties and hippurate hydrolysis activity. For the identification of the Campylobacter genus and its jejuni serovar by molecular methods, a multiplex PCR assay (m-PCR) with two sets of specific primers was used. In the hippurate hydrolysis test of suspected colonies, 76% of the samples were determined as positive, while in the m-PCR assay 28% of cultures harvested were identified as C. jejuni. Two percent of hippurate hydrolyze negative colonies were found positive in the m-PCR test.
It appears that the conventional method, based on the hippurate hydrolysis test for detection of C. jejuni, is a less reliable test. The use of the m-PCR method, based on amplification from conserved genes, allows reliable detection and identification of C. jejuni.

To determine the effect of bilateral uterine artery ligation (BUAL) on mast cell (MC) distribution, 24 mature female rabbits were studied. The rabbits were ovariohysterectomized on day 23, 43 or 63 following BUAL. Histological sections were stained with toluidine blue to determine the MC distribution. In rabbits that had undergone BUAL, MCs were present extensively in the helium of the treated ovaries, in dense groups close to the blood vessels. In the control group, MCs were observed at a medium density around the blood vessels and the number of MCs in the reproductive tract was significantly (P ? 0.01) lower than in the test groups. This study demonstrates that, after BUAL, the distribution and numbers of MCs differ between different parts of the reproductive system.

This study was conducted to investigate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of pentoxifylline (PTX) against aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure in perfused rat livers by evaluating damage marker enzymes, antioxidant defense systems (glutathione, GSH) and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA). Sixteen rats were divided randomly into four experimental groups: control, PTX, AFB1 and AFB1 + PTX. Rats in the control group were infused with Krebs–Henseleit bicarbonate buffer. Rats in the AFB1-treated group received approximately 1 ppm and the PTX- treated group received 100 mg/kg intraperitoneally 24 h before surgery. Alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase levels were increased by AFB1 and decreased by PTX. PTX also ameliorated the increased concentration of MDA caused by AFB1. PTX did not compensate for the decrease in GSH caused by AFB1. These results imply that PTX has an antioxidant effect by inhibiting free radicals, and prior treatment with PTX ameliorates the effects of AFB1-induced lipid peroxidation but does not compensate GSH depots.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis with numerous reservoir hosts. The disease is caused by infection with various serovars of Leptospira interrogans sensu lato. This study was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of leptospiral infection in stray cats in Ahvaz (south-western Iran) from April 2007 to June 2008. Blood samples were collected from 102 stray cats and screened for leptospiral infection using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Five of the 102 cats (4.9%) were serologically positive for at least one serovar of L. interrogans. The greatest number of reactors was for L. interrogans serovar balum (five serum samples). Antibodies against more than one serovar (namely, serovars balum and australis) were detected in one sample. All positive titers were detected at 1:100 dilution. The prevalence of leptospiral infection was 5.3% and 4.4% in male and female cats, respectively. There was no significant difference in positive titer prevalence between different sexes but prevalence was significantly different between age groups (P = 0.021), as all cats with positive titers were three years of age or more. This is also the first report of infection with L. interrogans serovars balum and australis from cats in Iran.

Infectious bronchitis (IB) is an economically important disease of chickens. Due to the emergence of new variants of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), the control of IB has become a serious problem for the poultry industry worldwide. In the present study, the nucleocapsid gene (N) and 3' untranslated region (UTR) of two IBVs isolated from Iranian poultry farms were sequenced and compared with other IBV strains. Based on nucleotide identity, the N gene and 3' UTR sequences of Iranian IBVs showed 90% similarity to the commonly used IBV vaccine strains, H52 and H120. However, based on phylogenetic analyses, Iranian IBVs were found to cluster separately from the IBV vaccine strains used in Iran as well as other IBVs isolated in China, Australia and the United States. It was concluded that IBVs circulating in Iran are genetically distinct from IBV vaccine strains that have been used in Iran for many years. Therefore, it is important to develop a new vaccine based on these newly identified strains for controlling IB in Iranian poultry farms.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a central role in the control of disease resistance and immune response. Extensive genetic diversity in MHC genes provides a valuable source for genetic improvement, via selection, in many domestic animals. Exon 2 of the class II MHC, termed Ovar-DRB1 in domestic sheep (Ovis aries), has been suggested as important disease resistance and immune response gene. We characterized Ovar-DRB1 in DNA samples from 138 individuals of a population of the Iranian Sangsari sheep breed using PCR-RFLP. Eight DRB1 alleles were identified among Iranian Sangsari sheep, including one previously unrecognized allele. Eight homozygous genotypes were observed: a, b, c, d, f, g, h and N. Genotype bb was the most common pattern (46 of 138). Heterozygous genotypes (ag, cb, cd, bf, and bN) were also observed. The observed homozygosity and heterozygosity values were 0.6377 and 0.3623, respectively, vs expected values of 0.220 and 0.779. Iranian Sangsari population deviate significantly from the theoretical proportions (FIS = 0.5283; p = 0.0005). In conclusion, PCR-RFLP analysis allows rapid identification of Ovar-DRB1 types and discrimination of homozygous and heterozygous genotypes. This study indicates that the exon 2 region of the Ovar-DRB1 gene is highly polymorphic in the Iranian Sangsari sheep breed.